


Dog Days are Over

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dogs, Fluff, M/M, Post-Series, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 19:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13277955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: After retiring from Voltron, Shiro convinces Matt to go look at dogs for adoption.Written for the Miro Zine





	Dog Days are Over

The summer sun beat down hard.  Behind his sunglasses, Matt squinted and wished that he’d worn more sunscreen. His shoulders were definitely going to be bright red by the end of the night.

Still, being here was more than worth it.

“Matt,” Shiro breathed, his voice pitching up in quiet awe.  “Look, look!”

The tiny black puppy in Shiro’s hands gave a huge, curly-tongued yawn, its too large paws spreading and settling against Shiro’s thumbs.

Matt bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing at Shiro’s enthusiasm.  “Very cute,” he agreed.

Nodding jerkily, Shiro brought the puppy to his chest, angled so the floppy ears drooped over his shoulders.  He rocked like a parent with a newborn as the puppy nuzzled in and closed its dark eyes.  “I like this one.”

No kidding.  Matt stepped over, running two fingers over the puppy’s velvety back.  It let out a little whine but settled back down almost immediately.  “I like them,” he agreed, but he was looking at Shiro more than the dog.  He was  _ besotted. _

Well, Matt was too, just for someone else.  It was the reason he was at this adoption event in the first place.

Because this was Shiro.  Older than when they’d started, more scared, and without his original arm.  But he still had that same look on his face as when he’d met Gunther.

“Did you ask anyone the breed, yet?” Matt asked.  “And... I dunno, they seem kinda young, yeah?  Should this one be away from their mother yet?”

Shiro frowned down, considering.  Then he drew himself up.  “I’ll find out.”  He hesitated, then dropped a kiss down on the furry black head, making the puppy mewl.

Oh, he was so lost.

Matt watched him wander up the staff, shoulders set with determination.  He sat down in the grass and grinned as a tussling pair of puppies rolled into his ankle.  “Hey, you two,” he called, playfully mocking.  “Watch where you’re going.”

Predictably, the puppies had no response to that.  The fluffy white one, managed to pin down the grey one, giving fierce little puppy snarls.  

Matt reached down and scooped up the white one in his palm  “Oooh, powerful little warrior, aren’t you?” he asked, rubbing over their head.

The puppy cocked their head, one ear twisting inside out.

Awww.

A shadow fell over Matt, making him look up.  Shiro smiled down at him, expression soft and gentle.  “Having fun?”

“I’m preventing puppycide,” Matt informed him.  “I like this one.  I dub them Allura.”

Shiro snorted and sat down, still clutching the little black puppy.  Meanwhile, the grey puppy scrambled between them, trying and failing to scale Matt’s lap to get to the white one.  ‘Allura’ gave a high pitched noise that sounded like it wanted to be a bark.  They squirmed until Matt put them down, then went right back to the fight.

“I think Allura would like that one,” Shiro agreed.  Then he hesitated, which was deeply suspicious.  “So, uh, the shelter doesn’t really know this puppy’s background.  They were brought in alone, but they’ve had all their shots and tests and all that till now.”

Matt’s brows rose.  “Okay, that explains their age.  And?”  There was another shoe to drop, or else Shiro wouldn’t be so cagey.

Biting his bottom lip, Shiro shot him a sideways look.  “They think one of the parents might have been a Newfoundland?”

Oh, boy.  Huge, drooly and a veritable walking fur factory.  A big dog like that was all well and good for Shiro, but not so great for Matt.  He had more muscle (and scars) on him than he used to, but he was still on the small side.

But Newfoundlands were also gentle giants to their core. 

In the end, this dog wasn’t for Matt.  Not really.  Sure, he loved dogs.  He was excited to look into getting one with Shiro.  But Shiro was the one who needed to care for someone else, who needed someone he could hold and speak to when he couldn’t bear to let his guard down around another person.  Matt got those benefits too, but Matt just wanted a dog.  Shiro  _ needed _ one.

“A Newfoundland sounds perfect,” Matt agreed easily.  “Amazing that something that little is gunna be so big.” 

Shiro’s entire body sagged.  There was a hint of moisture to his eyes.  “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah, they get big,” Matt replied, purposefully missing Shiro’s point.  “That little puppy is going to like... decuple in size.”

Reaching out, Shiro grabbed Matt by the shirt and pulled him into an eager kiss.  “You dork,” Shiro teased.  “You couldn’t just say ‘ten times bigger?’”

“Decuple does that in one word,” Matt pointed out, nose in the air.  But he smiled at Shiro.  “Seriously.  That’s good with me.  They’re good dogs, and a hybrid is good.  They tend to be healthy.”

Shiro nodded and leaned over, pressing their shoulders together.  They watched as the two puppies continued to jostle, while the smaller black one continued to snooze contentedly against Shiro’s neck.  “We’re going to get a dog together.”

Smiling, Matt nodded.  Hearing the words out loud made his heart jolt like he’d been shocked.  In a good way.  “We are, yeah.  First we need to pay.”

“Eugh.”  Shiro turned to press a kiss to Matt’s check.  “Let’s go talk to the attendant, then.”

As they climbed to their feet, Matt shot him a look from the corner of his eye.  “So, named them already?”

Shiro smiled bashfully and ducked his head.  “Yeah,” he admitted.  “Poosky.”

That made Matt pause.  “I’m sorry, what?”

Coloring, Shiro shrugged.  “It’s from a movie I saw as a kid.”

“No, but  _ Poosky?” _

In Shiro’s arms, the little puppy yawned and nuzzled in.  

“See?” Shiro insisted.  “He likes it.”  He smiled down at the dog, eyes gentle

Oh god.  They were going to name the dog Poosky.

Ugh.   _ Fine. _  Not his dog.

The look on Shiro’s face was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> The movie Shiro is referring to is "A Kitten's Story", which was translated and re-released in the form of 'The Adventures of Milo and Otis' in America. Some of you might remember it as such. 'Otis' was named 'Poosky' in the original Japanese version.
> 
> While it was packaged and released for children (especially in the US), it's not really a kid friendly movie. There's looots of scenes of questionable morality, especially where cats and cliffs are involved. Or pugs and bears.
> 
> Either way, where the hell was your parental guidance, Shiro??


End file.
